Nepal's Maoists burnt tyres and blocked roads in Kathmandu on Saturday in a new protest over a decision to appoint Indian high priests at the country's holiest Hindu temple, police said. The demonstration by dozens of protesters came as the two priests took up their duties at the sprawling Pashupati temple on the banks of the sacred Bagmati river in the Nepal capital, police said.
Shouting "Indian priests go home," the protesters torched tyres and threw up roadblocks. Four protesters were detained but later released, police officer Duryodhan Gharti said. The latest demonstration came after Maoists, wielding iron rods, attacked the Indian priests on Friday as they were performing purification rituals before taking up their new temple posts, police said. The priests suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Leading priests at UNESCO-listed Pashupati temple have traditionally been high-caste Hindus from southern India, a custom that has gone on for hundreds of years. But the previous Maoist government sought to scrap the tradition, saying in December it wanted them to come from Nepal instead. The step was part of wider moves by the Maoist government to restructure Nepal's relationship with its giant neighbour.